MADISON, Wis. - The eighteenth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's golf team moved up a spot to second after its final round 314 at the 17-team University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Invite. Senior Nora Cerroni (Waukesha, Wis.-Waukesha North) recorded her sixth career top-five finish with a final round 81, while freshman Natalie Ocheltree (Normal, Ill.-University High) recorded a 78 to join her in a tie for fourth.
Cerroni's entertaining trip around TPC Wisconsin featured two birdies, both on the front nine, en route to her 81. Ocheltree's lone birdie came on the par-five 10th for her second straight top-five finish. The two fired lower than the average score, which sat at 84.76 for the final round after 85.09 on day one.
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The Titans showed consistency throughout the leaderboard with five top-20 finishes in all. Sophomore Julia Henry (Homewood-Flossmoor, Homewood, Ill.) turned in the round of the day for IWU with a three-over-par 75, jumping 31 spots to earn a share of 16th. Senior Emily Gastrau (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Wauwatosa East) climbed two spots up the leaderboard for a tied-13th finish. Freshman Merritt Bell (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd) fired a second-round 78 to break into the top 20 with a piece of 16th.
Rose-Hulman's Lauren Paige Slatton finished the wire-to-wire victory after consecutive rounds of under par with a final round 71. She was the only student-athlete in the field to fire two under-par rounds for the tournament. Annabelle Chan, representing the tournament champion Pomona-Pitzer, shot the low round of the day with a two-under-par 70 en route to a second-place finish. Pomona-Pitzer polished off its win with scores of 305 and 314, topping IWU by 14 strokes.
The Green and White returns to action Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 1-3, at Metamora Fields Golf Course for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship. The Titans look to capture their fifth consecutive conference title and 21st all-time.
IWU individual results
T4. Natalie Ocheltree 77-78=155
T4. Nora Cerroni* 74-81=155
T13. Emily Gastrau 81-77=158
T16. Merritt Bell 82-78=160
T16. Julia Henry* 85-75=160
T23. Grace Fagan 81-81=162
T46. Gigi Zera 80-90=170
* denotes playing as an individual
Team standings
1. Pomona-Pitzer 305-314=619
2. Illinois Wesleyan 319-314=633
3. UW-Stout 317-323=640
4. Centre 340-308=648
5. UW-Eau Claire 324-325=649
6. UW-Whitewater (A) 330-322=652
7. Wittenberg 335-327=662
8. Rose-Hulman 332-334=666
9. Adrian 326-341=667
10. Carthage 330-339=669
11. Dubuque 343-332=675
12. UW-Stevens Point 335-346=681
13. North Central 338-349=687
14. UW-River Falls 350-338=688
15. Wartburg 349-345=694
16. UW-La Crosse 345-351=696
17. UW-Whitewater (B) 347-350=697
